Monday 24 September 2018 4:54 pm | Updated: Tuesday 21 May 2019 4:26 pm

Theresa May says she trusts President Donald Trump despite Iran sanctions

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Prime Minister Theresa May has stood by the UK's special relationship with the US despite Donald Trump's decision to take his country out of the Iran nuclear deal, insisting she continues to have trust in the President.

"Of course I listen to what the American president tells me," May replied when asked if she trusts Trump in an interview with CBS News this afternoon. "I mean, we work together. We have a special relationship."

The US was criticised for its relationship with Russia after Trump ignored May's request to raise the issue of the Salisbury attacks in a meeting with its leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, despite previously expelling 60 Russian intelligence officials over the ordeal.

The Prime Minister confirmed earlier this month that the attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March through the use of the nerve agent Novichok was carried out by Russian military officers, and "almost certainly approved at a senior level of the Russian state".

When asked if Trump's failure to discuss the matter with Putin was a "missed opportunity", May said today:

You know, I spoke to President Trump after the Salisbury attack took place. He said he would expel Russian intelligence officers. He did it.

I think Vladimir Putin is in no doubt about the view that we have about what happened on the streets of Salisbury.

The news comes as tensions between the two countries are fraught over the US's decision to re-impose sanctions on Iran last month, after Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal.

"The important thing about the JCPOA, about that nuclear deal, is that it is still in place," May added.

"Yes, the United States has taken a particular view on how to deal with this issue. That's a view which we disagree with. We take a different view. But that deal is still in place."

Earlier today, Swedish automaker Volvo revealed it had ended operations in Iran because newly imposed US sanctions have stopped the company from getting paid.